1.2 SAT Math - The Facts

How Many Math Questions are on the SAT?

There will be a total of 54 graded math questions on the test, broken up into three sections - one 25 minute section that is only multiple-choice, one 25-minute section that consists of multiple choice and ten grid-ins (in which you write your own answer) and one 20-minute section of multiple choice.

SAT Questions are Arranged in Order of Difficulty

Questions go in order from easiest to hardest, so on the 25-minute multiple choice, numbers 1 through 6 or 8 will be easy, the middle ones will be a little harder, and numbers 15ish through 20 will be the hardest. We'll come back to how you can use that to your advantage in a moment. The grid-ins are treated separately than the multiple choice, so on that section, 1-3 are easy, 4-6 are medium, 7-8 are hard, and then number 9 (the first grid-in) will be easy again, and so on through the end of the section.

How Many Math Sections are there?

If you've taken the SATs before, you may think there's more math than that. "Weren't there four math sections on my test?" you might be thinking. Well, there might have been. Here's the deal. The testmakers, in all their nefarious sneakiness, need to develop new questions and keep the scores in that curve you saw above. So rather than hire focus groups or volunteers, they give you a secret extra section on the test. It could be Math, Critical Reading or Writing, it definitely is NOT the essay, it definitely IS one of the 25-minute sections (so all the shorter sections definitely count), and it DOES NOT count towards your final score. If you've seen practice SAT tests in books, you'll see they always have a section missing - it will jump for Section 6 to Section 8 for example. That's because, in that particular test, Section 7 was what is called the Experimental Section, or variable section. The bottom line is that you won't know what section it is, so you have to take all sections on the test as if they count - but if you feel like you really bombed a section, keep your fingers crossed that it was the experimental one.

What Math Concepts are Tested on the SAT?

The concepts tested, as noted, are 7^th to 9^th grade math. It will consist of arithmetic (dealing with numbers), algebra (working with variables), basic geometry (shapes and graphing), a little bit of statistics (reading charts and data), and a few odds and ends like logic questions and sequences. There is nothing more advanced than early Algebra II concepts - there is NO trigonometry, no advanced geometry like proofs or the like, and certainly no calculus. If you know those skills well, you might find it more comfortable to use a little trig rather than do it an "easier" way, but it's certainly not necessary.

How Many Points is each Question Worth?

Every question is worth one point; every wrong answer is worth +

a point, which means for every question you get wrong, you get a fourth of a point subtracted from your raw score. Your raw score is the number they use to determine what score on the scale of 200 to 800 you will get. Skipped questions give you no points, and subtract no points.